Our reading starts at page 1136 of the Church Bible and it's Romans chapter 9 verse 30 and
I'm reading straight through to chapter 10 verse 13. So that's page 1136.
What then shall we say that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have obtained it,
a righteousness that is by faith? But Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the
stumbling stone, as it is written, See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock
that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Brothers, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them
that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge, since they did not know the
righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own. They did not submit to God's
righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law. The man who does these things will
live by them. But the righteousness that is by faith says, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into
heaven? That is, to bring Christ down. Or who will descend into the deep? That is, to bring Christ up from the
dead. But what does it say? The word is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart. That is,
the word of faith we are proclaiming. That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your
heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the scripture says, anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference
between Jew and Gentile. The same Lord is Lord of all, and richly blesses all who call on him.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Thanks very much, Trish. So keep your Bibles open, have a pen at hand, and you can take notes as we
go along.
Again, if you would like a summary of Romans chapter 9 to 11, then you can look that up on the church
website. On one of the recent posts, you will see that there's a couple of articles there which gives
a summary, and that might just help you to remember all that it's about. So you can look that up on the
church website. Let's pray then and ask for God's help.
Father, we thank you for the privilege
of having your word.
Lord, we thank you, too, that you have given to us your Holy Spirit, who is the ultimate teacher,
the one who not only gives us understanding in our minds, but applies it to our hearts, the one who
changes us, and the one who helps us to see who Jesus is and what he has done. And so we pray now for his help.
May your power be at work amongst us individually.
Would you be at work in our families?
And will you be at work within this church family?
Would you be pleased to do your work so that it brings honour and glory to you?
We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
Well, when the madness and the busyness of the day is over, and you're lying awake in bed,
what do you dream of for your life?
What do you most long for and want?
A peaceful and easier life?
A better job and a bigger home?
Or what about your children?
What is your desire for your children?
What above all else do you want them to have?
A good education?
A stable job?
A happy life?
Or what about those who are closest to you?
Your friends?
What's your longing for them?
What do you see as the most important thing for them in their life?
An end to an illness, maybe?
Or them finding a partner?
Well, if we are followers of the Lord Jesus, there should be one main desire.
Look at chapter 10, verse 1.
Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites, for those who are closest to me, my people,
my heart's desire and prayer to God is that they may be saved.
The one thing that keeps me awake at night, the one thing that consumes my thinking by day and shapes my prayers,
is that those who I know and love would become Christians.
My dream and my desire is that they are saved.
You see, for us to experience God's salvation means to be free from all of our guilt and shame,
to be forgiven of all of our sin, past, present and future,
to be welcomed in and treasured as one of God's own children,
and to be given the promise of life in his new creation for all eternity.
Not to be saved means to face God's just and fair judgment,
to be shut out from God's presence,
to be cut off from all that is good and beautiful.
It will be hell itself for all eternity.
And so the one controlling desire is that our friends and our family are saved.
And here's the good news.
There's a wonderful promise in chapter 10 verse 13.
Do you see it there?
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Not some people, not a privileged few, not a special select group,
but look at verse 10 or verse 13.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
You see, whatever our dreams and desires are,
God's heart is that everyone would hear the good news
and experience the salvation that he has to offer.
So there's this wonderful invitation,
but it comes with three conditions,
and we're going to look at them each one.
An open invitation, but three conditions.
Here's the first one.
There is only one way to receive salvation.
Only one way to receive salvation.
Now this comes in two parts.
There's the first part.
We receive it by faith and not works.
Look at verse 30.
Chapter 9, verse 30.
Having been talking about the salvation,
he says in verse 30,
What then shall we say?
That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness
have obtained it,
a righteousness that is by faith.
But Israel who pursued a law of righteousness
has not attained it.
You see, in these couple of verses here,
we're introduced to two kinds of people.
Look at verse 30.
We've got the Gentiles.
They were not very religious people.
They weren't the kind of people who read their Bibles.
They weren't interested in going to church.
And then in verse 31,
we've got the religious people,
the people of Israel.
They're the kind of people you meet day to day
who are wanting to go to church.
They're the people who pray and read
and they're interested in religious things.
But the surprise here between these two groups of people
is the kind of person
who actually receives righteousness.
And righteousness here is right standing with God.
It's salvation.
And here's the surprise in these two verses.
The religious person who works for salvation
doesn't receive it.
Verse 32.
Why not?
Because they pursued it not by faith,
but as if it were by works.
You see, some people think that you earn your way
into God's favour.
People think that you build up lots of points
and therefore you deserve God's acceptance.
Look at me.
Look at what I did this week.
In other words, you're working for it.
But the surprise is,
it's completely the opposite.
Verse 30 again.
The Gentiles,
these are the people who aren't very religious,
who weren't pursuing righteousness,
who weren't working for their salvation.
They have got it.
They have received this righteousness
because it is by faith.
So, we receive it by faith,
not works.
And here's the second part to it.
By faith,
not works,
in Christ,
and not ourselves.
You see,
faith must be placed somewhere.
And it's placed in a person,
Jesus Christ,
and what he has done.
So, verse 32.
Let's read from there again.
They pursued it,
not by faith,
but as if it were by works.
They stumbled over the stumbling stone.
What's the stumbling stone?
Well, let's read on.
As it is written,
See, I lay in Zion
a stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who trusts in him.
So, the rock is a person.
So, the one who trusts in this person
will never be put to shame.
You see,
God had promised
that he was going to set up
a stone,
excuse me,
a rock.
Not a physical rock,
but a king,
a person
who was going to come
and save
and rule,
and that rock
is
Jesus Christ.
Now, the person
who has faith
in themselves
rather than in Jesus,
then the rock
becomes
an obstacle.
Look at verse 33 again.
It's a stone
that causes people
to stumble.
It's a rock
that makes people
fall.
Why?
Well, because they're trying
to get salvation
on their own.
And so,
when they are confronted
with Jesus
who says,
I am the only way
to salvation,
he becomes an obstacle
to get rid of.
He's something
that's in the way
that we don't want
and so people
want to kill him
and get rid of him.
But the person
who does have faith
in Jesus,
then this rock,
as we heard earlier,
becomes the foundation
for your life.
It becomes the place
to stand on
and a shelter
to hide in.
Look at the end
of verse 33.
The one who trusts
in him,
who trusts
in this rock,
Jesus Christ,
will never
be put to shame.
So our faith
is placed somewhere.
It's placed
in a person,
in Jesus,
a place
to stand on,
a shelter
to hide in.
And here's why.
Here's why
we must have
our faith
in Jesus.
Look at verse 4.
chapter 10
verse 4.
It tells us there
that this rock,
Jesus,
is the end
of the law
so that there
may be righteousness
or salvation
for everyone
who believes.
Now look at that
little phrase there,
Christ is the end
of the law.
This is what it means.
Two things.
First,
Jesus becomes
the law keeper
for us.
He obeyed it
and He never
broke it.
He lived it
and He never
failed it.
And He did it,
He obeyed it
for you
and for me.
And so in response,
our faith is in
the obedience
of Jesus
who kept the law
for us.
We fail in the law,
but He obeyed it
perfectly.
So my faith
is in His
perfect performance
and not mine.
So Jesus,
do you see,
He becomes
the rock
on which we stand.
We stand on
His perfect
obedience
for you
and for me.
But the second
part to this
is,
Jesus also
became
a lawbreaker
for us.
Now by that I mean,
I don't mean that He
went and broke
the law,
but that He was
treated
as a lawbreaker
for us.
He took
our disobedience
on Himself
and He was
punished
as if He
failed
and disobeyed.
But it was
always in
our place.
So our faith
is in Jesus'
death
for you
and for me.
Our faith
is in Him
who took
the blame
for me
for all my
failures
for not
keeping the law
and doing
what is right.
So Jesus
becomes the rock
in which we
shelter,
in which we
hide.
He is the rock
in which we
stand.
the rock
in which we
shelter.
Our faith
is in a person,
in Christ
who has
completed
and done it
all for you
and for me.
So there's
only one way
to receive
salvation.
We receive it
by faith,
not works,
in Christ
and not
ourselves.
Here's the
second condition.
It's an open
invitation,
but
there is
only one
place
to find
salvation.
There's only
one place
to find
salvation.
Again,
this comes
in two
parts.
We find
it first
not on
our own.
We can't
find it
on our
own.
Chapter
10,
verse 5.
Moses
describes
in this
way the
righteousness
that is
by the
law,
or the
way in
which
salvation
comes
by the
law.
The man
who does
these
things
will
live
by
them.
Now,
in some
ways,
this is
just a
summary of
all that
he's just
said,
that some
people trying
to find
salvation
on their
own.
They try
to achieve
it by
avoiding
Jesus
and depending
on their
own
ability.
So the
man who
does these
things will
live by
them.
He must
keep to
the law
and do
everything
that it
says.
In this
case,
for people,
it is
following the
law that
they must
do
religious
things,
and if
they think
they do
religious
things,
that's
going to
be enough.
For
somebody
else,
their
particular
law
might be
being
tolerant
and being
open to
other
people,
and if
I'm a
very
tolerant
and
loving
kind of
person
of all
people
in
different
ways,
then
that's
going
to get
me
salvation.
But
the
point
is,
we
never
ever
find
salvation
on our
own.
We'll
never
find it
in our
own
particular
systems,
or in
the places
that we
look.
Look at
verse 6.
The
righteousness
that is
by faith,
or the
salvation
that comes
by faith
says,
do not
say in
your heart
who will
ascend
into
heaven,
that is
to try
and bring
Christ
down,
or who
will
descend
into
the
deep,
that is
to bring
Christ
up from
the
dead.
You
see,
he's
saying,
look,
you can
go
searching
to the
highest
heights,
you can
go looking
down to
the deepest
depths,
but you're
not going
to find
it.
Everyone,
as we
said
earlier,
is longing
for salvation.
We're all
in search
of rest
and peace.
We all
long for
something
different in
our lives
and for
the world
to be
better.
And some
people turn
to religion,
some people
turn to
Islam or
Buddhism,
other people
run away
from religion
and they
try to
find it
in atheism
or humanism.
We search
for it
in people,
we look
for it
in all
kinds of
different
places,
but the
point is
we never
ever find
it.
Why?
Because in
all the
places we
search and
in all the
places we
look,
it's always
demanding
something
from us.
It's always
asking of
us something
that we
must do
or something
that we
must achieve
which we
can never
ever live
up to.
So where
do we
find our
salvation
that we
search for?
Well, we
don't find
it on our
own.
We find
it in
God's
word,
the
gospel.
Look at
verse 8.
So what
does it
say?
The
word
is near
you.
It is
in your
mouth and
it is
in your
heart.
That is
the word
of faith,
the word
of the
gospel that
we are
proclaiming.
So the
reason that
they have
the word
of the
gospel in
them,
the word
of faith
in them,
is because
it has
been
proclaimed
to them.
And that's
where we
find
salvation.
We find
salvation in
the word
of faith,
in the
gospel
message.
That's
where we'll
see it.
So we
don't need
to go
searching
because
Jesus has
already come
down from
heaven to
search for
us.
We don't
need to
go looking
because Jesus
lives.
He has
been raised
from the
grave and
he's still
looking for
people.
And that
message of
hope of
Jesus
searching and
looking for
us is
near to
us.
He tells
us in
verse 8
that it's
in the
word of
faith.
It's in
the gospel
and it's
that gospel
word that
will save
us.
Look at
verse 9
of chapter
10.
He says,
look,
we've told
you this
message,
we've
proclaimed
to you,
verse 9,
that if you
confess with
your mouth
Jesus is
Lord and
if you
believe in
your heart
that God
raised him
from the
dead,
you will
be saved.
That's the
message.
This is the
gospel that
has been
proclaimed to
you.
Now, we
must be
clear on
this.
This isn't
some kind
of spiritual
mantra so
that everybody
who rattles
off the
words,
Jesus is
Lord,
at some
particular
meeting or
a camp or
whatever the
place may
be,
that somehow
that's it,
that's the
end of
it,
that I'm
now saved.
No, look
at verse 10.
For it is
with your
heart that
you believe
and are
justified,
and it is
with your
mouth that
you confess
and are
saved.
You see,
what comes
out of
your mouth,
what you
speak and
what you
say,
is an
outward
expression of
what's going
on inside
your life,
inside your
heart.
In other
words, if
you believe
with your
heart,
if you
are trusting
in the
rock,
Jesus
Christ,
the one
whom you
stand on,
the one
that you
take shelter
in,
if you
believe in
him,
and you
express that
with your
mouth,
you will
be saved.
The point
is,
in these
few verses
here,
is that we
must never
ever think
that God
is playing
a game of
hide and
seek with
us,
that he's
kind of
somewhere
out there
and we've
got to go
find him
and search
for him
somewhere.
The opposite
is true.
He is the
one who has
come to
search for
us.
He is the
one who's
come and
made himself
known to
us today
through his
word,
the gospel.
This is what
we have right
here in God's
word, in the
Bible.
It has been
made known
to us.
So there's
only one
place to
find salvation.
We find
it not on
our own, but
we find it
in God's
word, the
gospel.
So, the
third
condition, it's
an open
invitation to
all.
And third,
there is only
one way to
experience
salvation.
Look at
verse 11.
As the
scripture says,
anyone who
trusts in
him, in
Christ, will
never be
put to
shame.
So, rather
than think that
salvation is
just for a
select few,
we should
understand that
this is an
offer that
is open to
all.
Verse 13.
Everyone,
who calls
on the
name of
the Lord,
will be
saved.
It is an
offer without
limits.
It is
told out
to the
world.
This is
the generosity
of God.
Now, while
the offer
is open
to anyone,
we must
also understand
that the
way to
experience
this gospel,
this message
of salvation,
is also
the same
for everyone.
Look at
verse 12.
For there
is no
difference
between
Jew and
Gentile.
The same
Lord is
Lord of
all, and
richly
blesses
all who
call on
him.
It
doesn't
matter, he's
saying, what
your background
is.
Whether you
would describe
yourself as a
religious person,
or whether you
would say you
are irreligious.
It doesn't
matter what the
colour of your
skin is, or
the language
that you
speak.
Whether you
were raised
in a
Christian
home, or
whether you
didn't have
that.
Whether you
are rich or
poor, skilled
or unskilled.
Look what it
says in
verse 12.
There is no
difference between
the Jew, the
religious person,
and the Gentile,
the irreligious
person.
There is no
difference.
God makes
no distinction.
He has no
favourites.
no one person
has an
advantage over
another person.
He works
salvation in
each and every
person in
exactly the
same way.
Look at the
second part of
verse 12.
The same
Lord is
Lord of
all and
richly
blesses all
who call
on him.
Salvation
is available
to all.
How?
through his
riches.
The riches
of his
grace.
God doesn't
have one
way of
working with
one particular
people and
another way of
working with
somebody else.
He saves
all of us
in exactly
the same
way by
his
grace.
Now that's
good news
because that
means if
he treats
and he deals
with all of
us in
exactly the
same way
then we're
all on the
same playing
field.
Nobody here
can feel
inferior to
anybody else
and nobody
can be
superior to
anybody else.
We're all on
the same
playing field
and that
means that if
I am a
Christian
then that
means anybody
else can
become a
Christian.
And if
God has
saved you
and you
are trusting
in Jesus
Christ
then that
means he
can save
any of your
friends and
family too.
There's only
one way to
experience
salvation
and that is
through God's
grace which
is open
to all.
Now I want
to finish
with two
things.
If you've
got notes
the little
A5 sheet
they're written
there, they're
not on the
screen but
here they are,
here's the
first thing.
If you are
not yet a
Christian
is there any
reason why
you have not
yet received
salvation?
It's an
offer that
has been
given to
you.
And it
says very
simply
that in
verse 11
that anyone
who trusts
in him
will not
be put to
shame.
There is an
open invitation.
You've heard
it.
What's
stopping you
from trusting
in it?
And the
second
question is
this.
If you are
a Christian
maybe you've
got it into
your mind
that you
think I've
got this
friend or
I've got
this person
in my
family and
they're not
yet a
Christian and
I just
don't think
it's
possible.
Well look
at what
it's saying
here.
Everyone
who calls
on the
name of
the Lord
will be
saved.
And so
chapter 10
verse 1
we can
pray for
that person
trusting them
into God's
care and
trusting him
that he
will do
his work
in their
lives.
So who
is that
person
that you
could be
praying for
that could
become a
Christian?
So two
things.
If you
are not
yet a
Christian
why not?
And if
you are a
Christian
who are
you praying
for that
could become
a Christian?
Let's just
take a
moment to
reflect on
that and
pray through
those things.
let's just
do that
in the
quietness
now.
If you
are a
Christian
then pray
for that
person
right now
who you
know
that they
too
might become
a follower
of Jesus.
And if
you are
not yet
a Christian
why not
ask that
you might
receive
salvation
from
him.
Thank you.
Father, we thank you for your word.
We thank you for your generous and open invitation.
We pray for your ongoing saving work in our lives
and within our community.
Father, give us a heart that we would continue to desire and to pray
that those who we know and love
would yet become followers of you.
Amen.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.